Health and safety protections for gig economy workers

That this House welcomes the finding of the High Court that the UK Government has failed to properly implement EU health and safety directives and has failed to transpose important EU health and safety protections into UK law; notes that the case was taken to court by the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) because workers not classed as employees have to date been denied the right to refuse unsafe work and the right to personal protective equipment (PPE), putting them in serious danger throughout the pandemic; further notes that the judgment means that workers in the gig economy are entitled to the same EU-derived health and safety rights as employees; congratulates the IWGB for securing this ruling on the back of a public crowdfunding initiative; reminds the Government of its undertakings that it has no intention of lowering the standards of workers’ rights after the UK leaves the EU; and calls on the Government to act now to provide a clear statutory extension of health and safety protections to gig economy and other precarious workers.